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The sheriff gave federal agents access to the jail and their records to identify inmates considered a threat to public safety and prevent them from being released back into the community.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors has been under pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union and local immigrant rights groups to intervene and end the program.

During their meeting Tuesday morning, board members approved a response letter to the ACLU that explained their limited authority over the sheriff.

"In enforcing law, the sheriff is acting as a peace officer of the state and is under the direct supervision of the attorney general," supervisor Simon Salinas wrote. "In addition to being an officer of the county, the sheriff is also an officer of the courts. While acting in that capacity, the sheriff is not under the supervision of the board, and the board may not assert control over the sheriff in connection with such duties."

Instead, supervisors will request that the sheriff report monthly to the Board of Supervisors on how many people have been released to ICE as part of the PEP, including the priority enforcement categories for these individuals; meet with members of the community to explain the operation and purpose of the program, and address community questions and concerns; and report quarterly to the Board of Supervisors on the incremental costs of the sheriff's office to participate in the PEP.

Jesus Valenzuela, who works with the Monterey Bay Labor Council, said the program undoes much of the work local organizers have done to improve community-police relationships.

"What that does when we increase trust is that people are more likely to report crimes, people are more likely to collaborate when there is a crime, and so we feel that when the sheriff's department is doing this type of thing where they deport people it breaks that trust," Valenzuela said.

A fourth request was added by Supervisor Jane Parker during Tuesday's meeting in response to concerns.

"I think it would be interesting for us to be able to monitor, for instance, the calls to the crime tip line to the sheriff's department for the period for instance between October 2014 through March of this year, compare that six-month period to April of this year through the end of this year," Parker said.

Other residents expressed support for the added enforcement.

"They have to adhere to our laws as we do their laws in their country. It’s just bottom-line respect," resident Laura Moffett said.